Hawkgirl/Jean Grey: Wings of Fate

Thousands of years ago

The planet Zastrad

He had been at it for months. Sethath, a brilliant scientist, had been keeping the Earth woman in stasis for months, linking his mind to hers on a daily basis in an attempt to figure out the secrets of the mysterious entity that had bonded to her -- it had a power unlike anything he could have imagined, and he had been ordered to harness that power.

While Sethath was a genius, he was also arrogant enough to believe he could control the entity; he had been prodding and needling her mind, attempting to manipulate her through a telepathic link. The woman had proven herself to be resilient, though, and his attempts up until now had been unsuccessful.

Sethath's patience was wearing thin. The Zastradian High Council had been demanding results, suggesting that the entity's power could not be controlled, hinting that they were ready to scrap the project. Sethath couldn't let that happen -- his ego wouldn't allow it -- so today, he decided to use a more direct method to try and awaken the entity. He once again linked his mind to the woman's and began his daily work.

*You've been uncooperative for long enough. I really didn't want to have to do this, you know, but you give me ****.*

Sethath began to access the woman's memories, showing her the most painful moments of her past. The idea was to produce an **** emotional response -- one that would bring out whatever this presence was. And as the mind link's sensors noted a dramatic spike in power, Sethath smiled with satisfaction.

That satisfaction would be short-lived, though; after months, the woman awakened, surrounded by flames forming a magnificent, but terrifying bird. Sethath's sumg arrogance turned to fear -- he thought he could control whatever this was. Now he realized he wasn't even going to get the chance.

With an unnatural screech, the woman burst out of the lab she'd been kept in, breaking through the facility's roof. Sethath focused on the now open sky, which had turned into an inferno. Within moments, those flames consumed everything.

Sethath awoke in a dark void, recalling his final moments. What had he unleashed?

"You remember, don't you?" an ominous voice echoed throughout the void. "Your final moments... the final moments of your planet, your galaxy."

"My planet... my galaxy..." The enormity of what had happened hit Sethath, and it hit him hard. "She destroyed it all...?"

"Yes. Did you know what you were trying to awaken?" The voice asked.

"No..." Sethath was overcome with grief, recalling the terrifying firebird. In reality, everything happened within mere moments, but in his memories, it seemed like an eternity.

"What you saw was the Dark Phoenix, a being of unimaginable power. A being that threatens untold existences, including my own..."

Sethath had a confused look on his face, unsure where this conversation was going. "Who are you? Why are you telling me this?"

"You will learn more about me in time," the voice began to explain. "All you need to know now is that I can provide you with the means to meet this woman again. To confront the Dark Phoenix and end it."

Those words lit a fire in Sethath. Everything he knew was gone, and it was that woman's fault. Her and this "Dark Phoenix". He didn't know who or what was speaking to him now, but whatever it was seemingly provided an opportunity for ****. His new purpose. To find this Phoenix and end it.

"I'm listening..."

The White-Hot Room

"Firehair... it is time for you to awaken."

Thousands of years later, the redhaired woman awoke in a white city. "Am I dead...? Where am I...?"

"This realm is the nexus of your multiverse," a calming voice answered. "It exists across time, both in and out of reality. I brought you here after... coming to."

The woman suddenly realized who she was talking to, and what they had done, and an intense feeling of horror gripped her. "You're the Phoenix... we destroyed a galaxy... it was all real, wasn't it?"

"Sadly yes," the Phoenix answered. "We had our darkest impulses brought to the surface by a man who wanted to control us."

Firehair burst into tears, devastated. "No..."

"I understand you sorrow, and I am truly sorry. I kept you asleep for millennia to shield you from what we did... but it is time to reawaken."

"'Reawaken'?! After what I did, I don't deserve to live!" Firehair cried.

"Do not blame yourself -- I was the one unable to overcome the impulse to destroy," the Phoenix explained. "For millennia, I have lived with the guilt. But I have seen the future. I must reawaken if our multiverse is to continue as it should... and I cannot do so without my host."

"And why would I go back?!" Firehair screamed. "So someone else can try and control me? What if we end up destroying another galaxy?"

"I understand your ****. And, truthfully, your worries are not unfounded. I may be this universe's destruction... but with your help, I may yet be its salvation."

"Salvation? What do you mean?" Firehair wondered. The Phoenix showed her visions of her universe's possible futures -- one devoid of passion and love, emotionally dead, and a vibrant, exciting universe full of possibility.

"The choice to reawaken is yours, Firehair. But if you do not, that devoid future will be your universe's fate. The other vision is one that I have had if you choose to go back... it will not be easy, and will require great sacrifice on your part. But in the end, should things turn out as I have envisioned, it will all be worthwhile..."

Firehair pondered the visions. The emotionally dead future she had been shown was heartbreaking, perhaps even worse than nonexistence. Even with the burden she was shouldering, if she could play some part in helping the Phoenix **** saving her universe from that fate, she knew he had to try. And maybe, in doing so, she would be able to find a measure of redemption.